Questions to Ask a Senior Living Placement Specialist
A good placement specialist expects these questions and answers them without hesitation. Hesitation, deflection, or a vague answer to any of these is itself useful information.
On compensation and disclosure
- Are you paid by the communities you recommend, and roughly how much?
- Will you put that in writing before making a referral? California law (AB 2744) requires it — a specialist who resists a direct question about their own legally-required disclosure is a red flag, not a formality being skipped.
- Do any communities pay you more than others, and could that affect which ones you show me first?
On the scope of their search
- How many communities in this area do you actually work with?
- Will you tell me about options that don’t pay you a commission, if they fit my needs and budget better?
- Do you have experience with my specific situation — memory care, a Medi-Cal timeline, a specific medical condition?
On the facilities themselves
- Can you show me each facility’s actual state licensing and inspection record, not just your own summary of it? See our guide to reading an inspection record for what to look for.
- What’s the current staffing situation and turnover at each place, not just the marketing tour answer?
- What happens after move-in — do you check in, or is the relationship over once the lease is signed?
None of this means avoid placement specialists — it means treat the conversation the way you’d treat any paid-referral relationship: useful, but verify independently before deciding.
Looking for one? See our Senior living placement specialists directory — every listing is a clearly-labeled, flat-fee placement, never a referral fee, never tied to whether you hire them.
When a placement specialist is worth using · Questions to ask on a tour · All guides